Midnight Movie at the New Bev
12:00 - 2:00 a.m. the night of Saturday, July 19
I’ve been going to the New Beverly Cinema since the late 90’s when I lived in Hollywood, and it accommodated my extremely tight budget by having a 10-entry punch card. I can’t find evidence of what the punch card cost, but one entry to a double feature was $5 at the time so the 10-entry card must have been under $50 and parking is free in the neighborhood (but read those signs, they will ticket!), so it was practically free to go since I never, ever bought concessions. I think I always went alone. I saw a lot of movies there but I particularly remember seeing Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, and being so devastated afterwards I walked back to my car in the foggy May midnight and wondered if I could drive safely home through my tears. I’m going to go ahead and spoil the movie because I can’t say I recommend it - a simple, virginal woman marries a man who promptly becomes paralyzed in an accident and asks her to go have sex with other men and tell him about it. She talks to God about this and God tells her she’s been very bad, and should work to be better. She tries timidly and talks to God again who says she’s still bad. So she goes after her new goal very, very hard and dies brutally in the effort. And then at the end God mourns her, and celebrates her, for being so good. ANYWAY here’s the calendar I found to remind me that that was in May 1998:
I was going to write a post about the history of the New Beverly Cinema, but then I found this comprehensive blog post about it and I cannot but just refer you there if you’re interested in this one movie house, or all revival movie houses. I had assumed it was just an old movie theater that went revival house sometime in the 70’s. And I was sort of right, but surprised to learn that it was first a candy store and ice cream factory (!) built in 1929. In 1937 it became a nightclub named Slapsy Maxie’s (!!) which sounds so made up but that blog post has lots of evidence, go look over there, but here’s the still-recognizable exterior:
That vertical sign must have been neon that flashed “SLAPSY” and “MAXIES” by turns and I wish I could have seen that. It had another location on Wilshire that is now demolished, but look how pretty it was:
Then it was turned into an acting theater, then a film theater (above board) then a different kind of movie theater (porno) then in 1978 Sherman Torgan leased it and turned it into an art- and revival-house cinema called the New Beverly Cinema, though only in researching this post did I realize that the sign just says “Beverly Cinema”.
Sherman Torgan programmed wonderful double features through the 80’s and 90’s, then in 2007 died while bicycling. Quentin Tarantino bought it and kept the name and the vibe, kept the ticket prices low and just remodeled enough to make it less uncomfortable. He also changed it so that every single movie is always and only on 35mm, often from his own collection of prints. I would not want to hang out with the man, and he’s no hero of mine, but I think this move was impeccable and I’m grateful for it. They show old trailers and commercials before and between movies, the crowd there is great, and it’s just a fantastic place all around.
So join us on Saturday, July 19 for a midnight showing of Moulin Rouge! We might even all dress up - anything is possible, midnight is magical! You can buy your tickets here, and bring anyone you want with you, we look forward to seeing you there!
A Perfect 24 Hours in Los Angeles
4:00 - 6:00 p.m. March 6, Capri Club in Eagle Rock
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. April 10. Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City
8:00 - 10:00 p.m. May 24. Roller skating at Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale
10:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. June 20. Dancing at Club Underground in Chinatown
12:00 - 2:00 a.m. July 19. Midnight Movie (Moulin Rouge!) at the New Beverly Cinema
2:00 - 4:00 a.m. August 16 (night of August 16, technically August 17). After hours people watching at Astro Family Restaurant in Silver Lake
4:00 - 6:00 a.m. September. Walking through the Arroyo at dawn in Pasadena
6:00 - 8:00 a.m. October. Walk from my house to Cindy's diner in Eagle Rock
8:00 - 10:00 a.m. November. Trails Cafe and a walk in Griffith Park
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. December. Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood
12:00 - 2:00 p.m. January. Olvera Street museums
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. February. Velaslavasay Panorama or Old Town Music Hall matinee
Oh my GOD! I saw Breaking the Waves at the Beverly too and have never forgotten it. I hated it so deeply and felt like I had been shot in the gut. To this day, if you ask me the most traumatic film i’ve ever seen, I will say Breaking the Waves. It was incredibly and astoundingly misogynistic and made me so deeply sad anybody would green light that film.
That being said, the Beverly is still an amazing place but i’m old and will not be attending the movie. I look forward to the morning events when I will rise like Lazarus.